Understanding Impulse and Conservation of Energy in Bouncing Ball Collisions

Join the discussion
Registration is free. Start your own thread to ask a follow-up.
3 replies · 13K views
xrotaryguy
Messages
20
Reaction score
0
I don't know why I'm getting the wrong answer on this one.

A 5.00kg ball is dropped from rest from 1.20m above the floor. The ball rebounds .700m. What are the magnitude, and direction of the impulse or the net force applied to the ball during the collision with the floor?

So I started by finding the velocity of the ball just before and just after hitting the floor.
ch7no11c.gif
ch7no11d.gif


I use that to find the momentum of the ball before and after hitting the floor.
ch7no11e.gif
ch7no11f.gif


I find the diference between the two momentums and viola! Wrong answer :rolleyes: haha.
ch7no11g.gif


The answer is supposed to be 4.28N*s

What am I doing wrong? :cry: :biggrin:
 
Physics news on Phys.org
Oops, I found velocity with a physics equation that doesn't exist. :-D However, using the V=sqrt(2ax) formula, I still get the wrong answer...
 
Last edited:
xrotaryguy said:
Oops, I found velocity with a physics equation that doesn't exist. :-D

Yes, you wrote pretty weird things down. :smile:

Use, for example, conservation of energy to get the velocities you need.
 
radou said:
Yes, you wrote pretty weird things down.

Yeah, and I worked so hard at those images too :P

Ok, I'll try conservation of energy.

Thx